When it comes to property purchases, there is no dearth of friction between buyers and builders. Things can reach a flash point when it comes to parking lots.
Take the case of Atul (name changed). He was surprised to learn that there were only 800 car parking slots for about 912 apartments in the Ozone Evergreens project in Sarjapur Road, Bangalore.
The marketing department had indicated basement car park and the agreement also mentioned ‘covered’ car park. He now fears that a tin shed on the surface level, which is technically ‘covered’, is where he may have to park his car.
Buyers might overlook deviations in common areas, but they protest on issues relating to car parks, as space constraints in metros make it difficult to find parking spaces. Rentals for covered car parking may cost Rs 4,000 per month in Chennai and as high as Rs 12,000 in some parts of Mumbai.
Smaller spaces
Besides not allocating parking for all apartments, another difficulty faced is that of being squeezed into a small parking slot. The metro development authority in most cities has created laws that specify the size of parking – typically 2.5m x 5.5m.
However, size may not be clearly indicated by builders and buyers may know this only when parking is assigned to them. For instance, owners of a luxury multi-storey apartment complex in Whitefield, Bangalore, found out after taking possession that the parking space allotted to them was only 2.4m x 4.8m. This was just sufficient for a small car. But builders we spoke to said that some variations in the original layout plan are to be expected as construction progresses and hence that was the reason why it is difficult to allocate parking spaces prior to completion. In such cases, sometimes, regulations come to the rescue of residents. Chennai Corporation, for example, requires that residential buildings have one car park for every 800 sq ft of floor area in complexes within city limits and for every 1,075 sq ft outside limits.
In September 2012, Chennai’s Housing and Urban Development authority allowed builders to construct multi-level parking, in addition to the stilt level parking. This will help increase provide more parking spaces for occupants, without sacrificing floor space.
Selling spaces
A third frequent point of contention relates to the sale of parking spaces. The Supreme Court had ruled in 2010 that open areas or covered parking spaces cannot be sold separately as ‘garage’. These are part of the common areas in apartment complexes and are not saleable independently or along with a flat. Such sale reduces the ‘undivided share of land’ from what was mentioned in the agreement. Some home owners’ associations too monitor and discourage the sale/renting of car parks by residents.
“We earmark car parks for each apartment and our association by-laws clearly state that owners cannot sell car parks separately,” says Srikanth, Vice-President of Sales and Marketing at Akshaya Homes, Chennai. “Renting of car parks is monitored and strongly discouraged,” he adds.
But the rules are not uniform across the country. Maharashtra has laws that define what is considered a car park and whether the builder can sell it or not. In Karnataka there is more ambiguity as the state law (KAOPA Act) is not strong. To add to the confusion, there is a stamp duty and registration value defined for car parks by the registrar.
“We register underground parking spaces along with the flat,” says Mathew Mammen, Executive Director, Sobha Developers, Bangalore. “We also sell additional parking spaces that may become available as the project progresses.”
Other issues
In addition to space for owners, it is preferable to have a common area for visitors parking. Issues arise if some owners permanently have their cars parked at these locations, reducing available free space. This may happen if the car parking facility is inadequate and certain apartments have not been given any parking. Usually, the society intervenes and arrives at a compromise between its members to accommodate and balance everyone’s needs. The society may also charge a nominal car parking fee to the members using the common area parking, if it is inside the compound.
One should also note that apartment owners do not ‘own’ common space parking and it is not a right to demand it from the society. Flexibility is also needed when an elderly or disabled person wants to swap parking spaces with another owner.
Hence, buyers should be aware of the many possible speed bumps when it comes to getting vehicle parking space. Knowing the local rules and exercising caution before signing agreements will help ensure a smooth cruise.